


Like the Stars

by fir8008



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, M/M, Spies & Secret Agents, Strippers & Strip Clubs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 03:51:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1251700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm a star, you're a star. Someone was told to extinguish us." Kai is a stripper. Kyungsoo is a spy. And maybe, Kai thinks too late, that wasn't a good combination.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to AsianFanfics on July 19, 2013.

“ _I’m a star, you’re a star. Someone was told to extinguish us… Close yourself off and lie there alone. Become no one and my hands won’t shake._ ”

Kai met Kyungsoo in a simple way. Kai worked as a dancer at a nightclub in Seoul. The club was always packed with sweaty bodies, brimming with people desperate to shake off their inner demons and immerse themselves in crappy club beats and pounding dubstep. Kai didn’t like his job. It was a far cry from his dream, but it paid the rent and paying rent meant survival in a cruel city. Kyungsoo was a new face in the club that night. Kai recognized most of the patrons. The club was a place full of routines. Certain people came in on certain days. Kyungsoo first came to the club on a Tuesday night. He wore a plain grey suit and a blue tie. Kai didn’t think much of him then. He saw his bartender friend pour him a whiskey on the rocks. Kai sized Kyungsoo up immediately. He was probably in the corporate side of the workforce and woefully tired of life. He was probably a tax attorney or something else nondescript. He didn’t go out to have fun and watched what he drank. Kai assumed he had finally reached a breaking point and decided to revisit a moment of his squandered youth. He watched Kyungsoo remain at the same stool all night nursing the same drink until he left. He left Baekhyun a nice tip.  


Kai didn’t expect to see Kyungsoo again the next night. His suit was the same, but the tie was green. He ordered the same drink and sat at the same place. He still didn’t think much of Kyungsoo, other than he looked extraordinarily young to be so tired. Again, he left Baekhyun a large tip when he left.  


“Think he’ll show up again tomorrow?” Baekhyun asked at the end of the night.  


“Maybe,” Kai replied noncommittally as he wiped his stage makeup off.  


“He tips well. I hope he comes back.” Baekhyun added.  


Kai hummed in agreement. He dabbed a cotton swab in makeup remover and wiped it across his waterline, removing all traces of his eyeliner. “He doesn’t look at you greasy. He looks just to look.”  


“Yeah. I kind of feel bad for him. What do you think his story is?”  


Kai groaned. Baekhyun had a knack for making up stories about the club’s patrons. They were horribly romanticized, torn from pulp fiction and mass market paperbacks and gossip magazines that littered the lounge and backstage.  


“He looks like a tax attorney.” Kai replied. “Nothing special there.”  


“Yeah, but say he’s the son of a CEO trying his hand at being a grunt so he can treat his employees with respect when he becomes the head honcho. Or he’s a prodigal son! He’ll go into his dad’s office after years abroad and the old man will turn the whole thing over to him.”  


“If you think he has that much money why does he come to this hellhole?” All of Kai’s makeup had been removed, a normal Kim Jongin stood in his place. He rubbed at his face. Pimples speckled his cheeks and dark circles ringed his eyes.  


He and Baekhyun walked back to their apartment. It was a good seven blocks away and both of them had achy legs but taxis were too expensive.  


“Luhan keeps threatening to quit.” Baekhyun reported. He put a pot of water on the stove.  


“That’s what the bastard gets for thinking he could succeed.” Kai kicked off his shoes. “We always think we’ll make it big but end up selling sex to fifty year old men with dead marriages and kids in university.” Kai reached into his pocket for a cigarette. He lit it and inhaled. “No one ever gets what he wants.”  


“Yeah, but how will quitting help him?” Baekhyun scooped coffee grinds into a cup. “We’re all stuck. None of us want to be here.”  


Kai nodded. “He’ll come to soon enough.”  


The next night Kyungsoo returned. This time he sat facing the stage. Kai saw him observing the dancers. Unlike the other men surrounding the stage, who gazed at the dancing men like hungry beasts, Kyungsoo looked at them with pity in his eyes. It irritated Kai. Kai didn’t want people’s pity. He welcomed fleeting lust and even anger, but he didn’t want anyone’s pity. Kyungsoo asked Baekhyun what Kai’s name was that night.  


“My name is Kyungsoo.” He introduced himself simply. Most men tried to be suave or sexy, but there was no effort behind Kyungsoo’s introduction. He was truly just saying hello.  


“You know my name. I’m Kai.” Kai was wary. These introductions only led to a bedroom and Kai never liked dealing with these stuffy formalities. He didn’t want to remember names or faces. They all left in the end anyway.  


Kyungsoo just nodded and asked for a cigarette. Kai gave him one and lit it for him. Kyungsoo smoked quietly. He didn’t look at Kai; he continued to watch the dancers on the stage. Kai watched him, wondering what he wanted from him.  


“Who is the blonde?” Kyungsoo asked him.  


Kai didn’t have to look. “Luhan. Chinese. Sings too, on Friday nights. The over-forty crowd likes him a lot. They always try to buy him drinks.”  


“Does he accept?”  


“We aren’t allowed to drink on the job.”  


“And who tries to buy you drinks?”  


“Depends on the night.” Kai replied.  


“Would you accept if I bought you a drink?”  


“No.”  


Kyungsoo came back to visit him for three more days. He always tipped Baekhyun and always talked to Kai. He asked about the other dancers and about the kinds of people who come to the club.  


“I think he’s a cop.” Kai said one night.  


“Why’s that?”  


“No normal person asks so many questions.”  


Baekhyun shrugged. “So maybe he’s an undercover cop. I wonder what he wants with our club though. There isn’t any drug dealing or mafia business.”  


“Yeah, but prostitution is illegal. If he is an undercover cop we’re all going to be unemployed soon.”  


“All I do is mix drinks and banter. Do you consider yourself a prostitute?” Baekhyun looked over at Kai. “When you sleep with men do they pay you?”  


Kai paused. “No, they don’t.”  


“Then you’re not a prostitute.”  


“Yeah, but what about the others? He always asks questions about them.”  


On Saturday night Kyungsoo didn’t show up. Instead, a new dancer made his debut. The owner of the club had to lie about his age because the kid was sixteen and so clearly did not sign up for this life. At the end of the night he was a sobbing mess backstage. His makeup was running, his nose was running, and he couldn’t stop crying.  


Kai shoved a handful of tissues beneath his nose and told himself he shouldn’t hit the new kid on his first day. Baekhyun carefully wiped away the new kid’s tears as he babbled out how terrible the past few hours had been.  


“He just told me I had to dance.” He whimpered. “He never said anything else. Some random old man reached out and pinched my thigh. I was so freaked out. And some other guy threw whiskey at me and told me to take my pants off.” A fresh wave of tears began. “I didn’t sign up for this. I just wanted a job.”  


Baekhyun smoothed out his hair. “It’s always hard your first day, Sehun. You’ll be fine.”  


Sehun just continued to cry. Kai wanted to tell him that it never gets better, you just become numb. Sehun was a pretty boy, the kind the old men craved. Soon enough he’d be dragged into backrooms and thrown onto cheap, scratchy mattresses. Someone would take what he wanted and leave him there alone and cold. Sehun would have to get used to that too, being taken and left. They wouldn’t pay him. They’d just let themselves out.  


Kyungsoo returned the next night. Baekhyun smiled at him. Again, he sat with Kai for the night, nursing a drink. “Something came up yesterday.”  


“I didn’t ask why you weren’t here.” Kai was also watching the stage. He followed Sehun with his eyes. The new kid looked gangly and awkward beside the others. Kai frowned.  


“Is he new?”  


“Yes. Sehun. Korean. Too young to be here.”  


Kyungsoo lit a cigarette. “He looks very young.”  


“He’s young and scared.” A pause. “And stupid.”  


“You feel bad for him.”  


“I want to hit him.”  


“Were you much older when you started?”  


“I was the same age.”  


“What did you want instead of this?”  


“I wanted to do ballet.”  


“Why couldn’t you?”  


“Too poor. Why do you ask so many questions?”  


“Why do you answer my questions?”  


“Why don’t you answer my questions?”  


“I am a man of secrets. I usually don’t answer questions.”  


Kyungsoo left a big tip for Baekhyun again. Kai told Baekhyun that he thought Kyungsoo was definitely a cop. Sehun cried again. Baekhyun wiped away Sehun’s tears. The kid revealed he had no place to go so Baekhyun allowed him to sleep on their couch.  


“If he’s a cop we’re all going to be out on the street.” Kai said.  


“So win him over. Don’t let him report the club.” Baekhyun answered, putting up water for coffee.  


“Who’s a cop?” Sehun asked.  


“The guy who comes in and talks with Kai.” Baekhyun replied. “Nothing to worry about.”  


“But he said…” Sehun trailed off.  


“Why’d you become a stripper?” Kai asked, feeling much like Kyungsoo with his questions.  


“I dropped out of school to become a dancer. The boss found me and said I could dance at his club. I didn’t think he meant this.” Sehun wiped his nose.  


“No one ever does.” Kai said, pulling out a cigarette. “It doesn’t get any better than this. You just get used to it. If you’re lucky you’ll just pour drinks for guys and flirt a lot. If not, you’re going to get hit on. So get used to it now.”  


Kai slipped into an uneasy sleep that night. His mind was filled with images of Sehun crying, of Kyungsoo’s pitying eyes, and of faceless men who smelled like too much alcohol. Kai was always a tough kid. He always had to fend for himself when his mother lay dying of lung cancer. When she died he ran out of money and options. The boss had appeared to him like an angel of death, offering him a life where he could dance and make a salary. Unbeknownst to him, the boss had described a glorified stripper and Kai had sold his soul to this man. He hadn’t cried like Sehun; he remained silent.  


Kyungsoo disappeared from the club for a month. He returned on a Friday. He came into the club as Luhan was singing one of his sickly heartfelt ballads. He sat down at the bar and ordered whiskey on the rocks, his usual. Kai saw Baekhyun light up as he poured the drink. Kyungsoo found Kai later and sat down with him.  


“I was in Russia, on business.”  


“What business do you do?” Cops, Kai thought, probably did not get shipped off to Russia.  


Kyungsoo smiled mysteriously. “Ah, nothing that would interest a young man. How is the new dancer?”  


Kai shrugged. “Adjusting. So far no one’s tried to do anything to him other than slap his butt.”  


Kyungsoo nodded. His eyes turned to Luhan. Luhan was singing a different song now. His voice was silky smooth as he crooned into the microphone. For all the complaining the Chinese male did, Luhan knew better than anyone how to work a crowd.  


“I like this song.” Kyungsoo remarked. “He has a very nice voice.”  


“That’s why the boss lets him sing. The rest of us don’t sound all that great.” Kai replied.  


“Does he get offered drinks often?”  


“The whole bar tries to buy drinks for him after he finishes singing. Baekhyun has to remind them they can’t buy drinks for the dancers.”  


“Does Baekhyun do any of this?” Kyungsoo gestured to the stage.  


“No. He’s the lucky one. All he does is mix drinks and chit chat all night.”  


Kyungsoo nodded. Kai studied his face. After not seeing him for a month, Kyungsoo seemed a little older. He was still clean shaven and his features were sharp. His eyes were big, his lips were plump, and his nose was straight. His eyes seemed to take in everything. They betrayed nothing but ingested everything.  


At the end of the night Baekhyun asked where Kyungsoo had been. Kai told him, “Russia.”  


“So he isn’t a cop. What cop goes to Russia?” Baekhyun smoothed out his vest. “Think he’s mafia?”  


“Too friendly to be mafia.” Kai said, wiping away his face.  


“Hmm, we aren’t on his bad side. They say the mafia only gets mean when you make ‘em angry.”  


“You need to stop reading spy novels.” Kai scoffed. “That stuff doesn’t happen in real life.”  


Baekhyun clapped his hands. “I bet Kyungsoo is like James Bond.”  


Kai rolled his eyes. “Of course.”  


That night Kai dreamed of Kyungsoo is a crisp black tuxedo, handgun in hand. He crept around corners and climbed up buildings and infiltrated top security buildings.  


Saturday brought a whole wave of club rats to the nightclub. The whole block seemed to vibrate with obnoxiously loud bass and throbbing techno. Kyungsoo remained at the bar, since Kai was requested to dance. Kai avoided Kyungsoo’s gaze as he made his body writhe in time with the pulsating beat. After he finished his dance he greedily chugged water from his bottle, relishing the icy liquid sliding down his parched throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sehun being dragged off by some sleaze ball. Quietly, Kai prayed that the guy would go easy on the new kid.  


At the end of the night, Baekhyun and Kai found Sehun holed up in the bathroom sobbing. His stage costume was torn and his eye makeup streaked his cheeks. His wrists were bruised, his thighs were bruised, and he was bleeding. Baekhyun and Kai had to support Sehun as they all limped home. In their apartment, Kai held up a weak Sehun as Baekhyun tried to clean him up in the shower. Sehun cried into Kai’s shoulder. Kai petted the boy’s wet hair. He noticed the bruises again. Kai cursed quietly.  


“Did he tie you up?” Kai asked. Sehun nodded and Kai swore again. “Did he pay you?” Sehun shook his head. Kai patted the back of Sehun’s neck. Sehun was too young. He was sixteen. Kai felt sick. He might’ve been sixteen when he started, but he was stronger. Sehun was a child compared to him. It made him sad to think when Kai began his career as a stripper Sehun was still in school, playing on a jungle gym with his friends.  


When Sehun was clean and calmed down, Baekhyun wrapped him up in a blanket and made soup. “It might be salty.” Baekhyun said as he spoon fed the younger boy.  


Kai smoked two cigarettes while Baekhyun took care of Sehun. His thoughts were in a dark place, full of his morbid desires to kill the men who had abused him over the past four years. He even wanted to kill the person who hammered the final nail in Sehun’s coffin. He’s trapped now, Kai knew. The boss always knew when his dancers were being used and he made sure none of them ever got away. Kai wished he could be like Luhan and laugh suitors away. Luhan had been in the business far longer, and had the seniority to threaten to quit. Yixing said Luhan had never once slept with a patron. Luhan just batted his eyelashes and waved them away. He was an untouchable prince while the rest of them were messed up and broken.  


Kai gave up his bed so Sehun could sleep more comfortably. He slept on the couch, legs dangling off the side so he wouldn’t get a cramp in his neck. He remembered a time when he could actually fit on the couch without hanging off the sides. That was a long time ago.  


The next evening Sehun’s legs wobbled as he danced. He was in pain. Baekhyun gave him painkillers and strict instructions to not even look at alcohol. “You’ll get sick and then more perverts will try to ‘help you.’ And by ‘help’ they mean pulling down your pants and bending you over. Stay away from the edge of the stage. That’s where the creeps hang out. Don’t go off alone.” Baekhyun patted Sehun’s cheek.  


Kyungsoo sat with Kai again. “You didn’t look very happy yesterday.”  


“I wasn’t.”  


“Your young dancer looks sick.”  


“He was raped yesterday.” Kai followed Sehun with his eyes. “He’s in a lot of pain.”  


Kyungsoo nodded. “I imagine he would be. How old is he?”  


“Not old enough,” Kai replied evasively.  


“Are you old enough?”  


“I wasn’t when I started but I am now. There’s no turning back for me.”  


“Why not?”  


“Our boss is all knowing. He doesn’t let the ones who sleep around get away.”  


“Does your boss have a name?”  


“We prefer Satan, though sometimes we call him The Dark Lord.” Kai answered with a small smirk. It wasn’t a lie. One night after Luhan threatened to quit Yixing said no one could escape the clutches of Satan. Baekhyun added that The Dark Lord wouldn’t like be called Satan. They all had a sick kind of connection. They competed in a way, they wanted to remain in the boss’s good graces and be the most beloved to the crowds. But none of them wanted to be strippers and they sympathized with one another.  


Kyungsoo nodded and rubbed his chin. “I suppose it’s fitting.” He turned to Kai. “I’m leaving again for business soon.”  


Kai shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if you’re here or not. Only difference is I don’t usually dance when you’re here.”  


“What do you call men like me? The ones who come to drink and visit but don’t sleep with you?”  


“Poor bastards.”  


Kyungsoo disappeared for another month. Life at the club went on as usual. Kai danced. He slept with patrons every so often. They were the same as always, callous and only looking out for their own pleasure. Kai showered meticulously those nights. Luckily, Sehun had mastered the art of sneaking away from patrons out to sleep with him Granted, he didn’t always get away but he avoided many unsavory encounters. Baekhyun poured drinks. Luhan threatened to quit. Yixing cracked jokes backstage. Life continued as normal.  


Kyungsoo returned on a Wednesday. The club was full of middle aged men of Wednesdays. The younger crowd was in school. Only the middle aged men drank in the middle of the week. They cluttered the bar, barking at Baekhyun to mix drinks faster. Baekhyun had learned not to roll his eyes at these impatient drunks. Kyungsoo sat with Kai again. 

“Where did you go this time?” A black and blue bruise marred Kyungsoo’s cheek.  


“China.” Kyungsoo replied, sipping from his drink.  


“Did you get into a fight?” Kai asked.  


Kyungsoo cracked a small smile. “A minor, unfortunate scuffle.”  


Kai watched Yixing as he twisted his slender body around a pole, earning catcalls from the men in the crowd. Yixing smiled at them, flashing his dimples. Kai thought Yixing would go off with one of them after this song.  


“You don’t speak about him often.” Kyungsoo noted.  


“Yixing. Chinese. He’s been here longer than me, but not as long as Luhan. He sleeps around the most.” Kai responded. “We aren’t particularly close. He keeps his place well. Luhan causes waves.”  


Kyungsoo lit a cigarette. The glow of the ashes highlighted the hollows of his face. He’d lost some weight in China.  


“He got into a fight.” Kai told Baekhyun as he washed his face.  


“I noticed.” Baekhyun said. “Did you see those animals at the bar? I only have two hands. I can’t pour ten drinks at once.”  


“It’s only once a week.” Kai said.  


“Yes, but I never like Wednesday.”  


Kyungsoo returned the following night. Thursdays saw more of the younger crowd. Some were celebrating the end of their classes for the week; others were just eager to consume alcohol and would probably go to their Friday morning classes wasted. It made no difference to Kai. He danced on Thursdays so it didn’t really matter who was hooting at him. It was something he’d adjusted to.  


He saw Baekhyun and Kyungsoo chatting at the bar. The youths were easier to pacify with alcohol than the old men. The younger crowd seemed to like being partially conscious enough to enjoy the dancers; the older crowd just wanted to black out.  


As Kai stepped off the stage, wiping at his sweat with a towel, he turned to see someone tugging on Sehun. The boy was trying to pull away. Kai approached slowly.  


“I said get your hands off of me, you disgusting pimp.” Sehun snarled.  


The man glared. “It’s cute you think you have a choice, precious.”  


“Touch me and I’ll kill you.” Sehun threatened.  


Kai flinched. As if Sehun’s twig arms could even touch a grown man… Kai stepped forward, to end the dispute but someone beat him to it.  


Kyungsoo’s hand seized the man’s wrist and twisted. He cursed loudly and turned to look into Kyungsoo’s black eyes. “He said to remove your hands.” Kyungsoo’s voice radiated fatality. “I’d advise you to listen.”  


Recognition flickered in the man’s eyes. “Do I know you?”  


“No. However, if you refuse to let this person go you’ll get to know me very well.”  


The man turned back to Sehun and shoved him into Kai’s waiting arms. “I don’t need a whore like you.” He said viciously. Kai thought the man, with his chiseled cheekbones and plump lips, might be attractive if he weren’t such an asshole. He jerked his arm free of Kyungsoo’s grasp and stalked away.  


Kyungsoo turned to Sehun, all traces of his menace vanished. “Are you alright?”  


Sehun was shaking hard. “Y-y-yeah, I’ll be fine now. Thank you.”  


Kyungsoo smiled at him gently.  


Back at the apartment, Baekhyun scolded Sehun. “I know that you don’t want creeps to hit on you, but you cannot try to fight back. They’ll always win and then they’ll retaliate. I guess we should be happy that Kyungsoo saved you.” Baekhyun frowned. “I’m going to have to talk to Luhan. He may be able to get rid of creeps but you shouldn’t. Don’t make waves, the boss can make your life hell.”  


Kai smoked as Sehun washed up. Baekhyun set a cup of coffee in front of him. Kai nodded his thanks and ground out the cigarette. “I think Kyungsoo is mafia. You should’ve seen him. He was a totally different person. He was about to rip that creep’s arm from its socket one minute then smiling at Sehun and checking up on him the next.”  


Baekhyun nodded and sipped his coffee. “The boss came down as we were closing. I think that creep had words with him.” Baekhyun shuddered. “I heard him say that he’d be down tomorrow at the club. Friday night of all nights… It’s going to be bad.”  


Kai nodded. “We always manage when the boss comes to visit. I’ll tip off Luhan; he’ll sing something diabetic in honor of the coming of The Dark Lord.”  


The next night the boss appeared in the flesh. The boss, Satan, The Dark Lord… His name was Kevin Li and he was a Canadian mogul who for some reason decided to open a nightclub in the red light district of Seoul. He was an imposing man, taller than the average Asian man at a staggering 188cm, broad shouldered, and expensively decked in crisp suits. He had a strict air about him and a sizzling gaze that seemed to dare anyone to defy him. He was scarily intelligent and seemed to know everything going on at the club. He rarely made appearances at the club – he had far more important things to do – so when he did show up it meant something was amiss and needed to be straightened.  


Mr. Li had deemed the problem to be Sehun. He strode into the dressing room, sending Luhan shrieking because he was still half dressed and makeup-free. Mr. Li grasped Sehun’s skinny bicep with an enormous hand and dragged him out forcefully. Kai felt his blood freeze. The boss hadn’t uttered a word, and yet Kai knew that Sehun would come out of this confrontation broken and crying.  


Baekhyun was fuming at the bar. His hands never stopped moving as he prepared drinks but the side of his mouth moved as he seethed to Kai. “That bastard, it’s his fault the poor baby is here, poor thing, he’s scared out of his wits, I mean I’d want to piss myself from fear if some shit tried to drag me off to rape me, and he’s going to ‘teach him a lesson,’ have you learned any lessons by getting tied up and raped, Kai?, well I haven’t, and that poor baby, I better find some tissues, fuck I hate that bastard, one day when we all get out I’ll spit on his face, I hate that man, he’s evil personified, and fuck your drink is almost ready hold your damn horses, and Kai I think Luhan wants you, he looks miffed.”  


Kai went backstage where Luhan was indeed looking miffed. “I thought I’d let you know that Satan is probably going after your little friend next. The guy he and Sehun pissed off yesterday was a personal friend of his, and rumored to be some government honcho. If I were you, I’d let your friend know before he ends up dead in an alley.”  


“What’s he doing to Sehun?”  


Luhan shrugged. “Hell if I know. I figure he’s showing off his Dominant personality – nothing whips a young rent boy into shape better than that – but I’d also guess he may just kick the crap out of him.”  


When Kyungsoo arrived at the club, Kai nearly ran to him. “Get out of here, quickly. Satan himself is paying a visit and he is not happy. You and Sehun messed with the wrong person and he’s out to settle something personal.”  


Kyungsoo stroked the side of Kai’s face, making him freeze with confusion. Kyungsoo smiled. He looked oddly amused. “I’ve faced far worse, dove. Don’t worry about me. I’d like to pay your boss a visit anyway.”  


“No, no you don’t.” Kai’s teeth chattered. “We can joke about him being Satan, but he’s a scary man.”  


“Where is the little one?” Kyungsoo asked gently.  


“I don’t know. The boss dragged him off to teach him a lesson. Please, Kyungsoo, get out of here before he kills you.”  


“Why are you so certain he’ll kill me?” Kyungsoo chided.  


Kai was about to respond when he felt a hand on his elbow. Yixing was looking at him with horrified eyes. “Come quick, there’s blood everywhere.”  


“Go.” Kai begged as he ran after Yixing.  


Baekhyun and Luhan had Sehun nestled in a cocoon of towels. Sehun’s eyes kept rolling around and Luhan kept slapping him to bring his attention back. They were crouching in the small makeshift shower backstage. Baekhyun had the first aid kit open and was pressing antibiotic cream into a long gash in Sehun’s forehead.  


Kai swore loudly as he crouched before Sehun. “Hey, look at me. Look at me.” Sehun’s eyes blearily focused on Kai’s face. “What the hell did he do to you?”  


Sehun coughed, blood splattering his lower lip. “Took me out back. I thought he’d make me sleep with him, ‘cause he told me to take off my clothes.” Sehun coughed again. Luhan rubbed his back. “So I took them off. Then he punched me. And he kept hitting me.” Sehun coughed again, blood dripped from the side of his mouth. “Yixing found me.”  


Baekhyun peeled away one of the bloody towels and wrapped a fresh one around Sehun’s waist. Kai felt his stomach twist at the sight of the rust colored stains.  


“I’m really going to kill him.” Baekhyun whispered. “Rat poison in his drink or something.” Tears glittered in Baekhyun’s eyes. “How can you do this to a child?”  


The world spun around Kai as he staggered out into the alley and emptied his stomach into a trash can. He shivered in the night air, goosebumps rising on his exposed skin. He hid behind the cans when he heard voices. They were speaking English. One voice was low and gravelly. The other voice was softer and melodious. Kai froze when he recognized the low voice as the boss’s, and he strained to hear the other.  


“ _You killed the little one_?” the soft voice said. Kai’s head spun. He’d learned English in school, but it was rudimentary and he’d forgotten most of it anyway. He strained his ears in hopes of picking up something that sounded vaguely familiar.  


“ _He isn’t dead yet_.”  


“ _Ah, you say that like he will be soon_.”  


“ _You and I took those classes together, the shock, the blood loss, the excruciating physical pain... if he survives I’ll believe in Jesus again_.” The deep voice chuckled in the darkness.  


“ _You knew he was sixteen_.”  


“ _I was the one who found him_.”  


“ _You aren’t a god, Kevin_.”  


“ _Nor are you, Mr. Do_.”  


“ _So formal_.” The soft voice laughed.  


“ _Which name do you take now? You aren’t Agent D.O. anymore. You went rogue. I doubt you’d continue to use your familiar name. Or perhaps you use it in hopes we wouldn’t deem you that stupid_.” The dark voice clicked his tongue. “ _Jongdae thought he was seeing your ghost last night. We were informed the great Do Kyungsoo was killed on a special mission in Pyongyang_.”  


“ _That runt playing king would never kill me. No, I tired of that life. But you know the Director is never fond of relinquishing his spies_.”  


“ _No one has ever gone rogue successfully. You may be dead soon_.”  


“ _I shall welcome death as an old friend. Lord knows I’ve escaped him many times_.”  


Kai swayed on his heels. The voices drifted away and all he had understood was “Do Kyungsoo.” Was it the boss and a friend talking about plotting Kyungsoo’s demise? Were they going to beat him like they’d done to Sehun? Kai was afraid.  


Kai ran back into the club. His head pounded along to the song they were playing. No one was onstage or at the bar. The crowd hummed restlessly, like a bomb about to explode. Kai spotted Kyungsoo and grabbed his arm. “You need to leave right now.”  


“Why?” Kyungsoo asked.  


“The boss beat up Sehun really bad.” Kai’s voice stuck to his throat. “It doesn’t look good.”  


“But why must I leave?” Kyungsoo’s eyebrows rose.  


Kai felt himself becoming hysterical. “Because you’re next, Kyungsoo! You need to leave before he gets you too.” Kai tugged impatiently at Kyungsoo. “Otherwise, you need to take me away from here because I’m going to blow. It’s too much, it’s all too much. I need to leave.”  


Kyungsoo nodded wordlessly and led Kai to his car. It was an expensive foreign model that Kai vaguely recognized from posters and auto magazines. He had no time to think about it as Kyungsoo drove him away. Kai was in a daze as Kyungsoo led him to his apartment. It was scrupulously clean. Baekhyun would describe the style as chic and modern but Kai thought nothing of the décor or lighting fixtures. Kyungsoo sat him down on a fluffy beige couch. Kai’s ears rang with insufferable noise. He felt Kyungsoo wrap a blanket around his shoulders, which were shaking.  


“The little one will be okay.” Kyungsoo said soothingly.  


“You didn’t see him.” Kai’s voice broke. “You didn’t see all that blood.”  


Kyungsoo cupped Kai’s chin in his hands. “Tell me something. Who would you be if this hadn’t happened? Who would you be if you weren’t Kai?”  


Kai didn’t hesitate. “I’d be Kim Jongin and I’d dance in the Korean National Ballet. That was my dream when I was little.”  


“Why did you give that up?”  


“Dreams don’t pay medical bills, Kyungsoo. Dreams don’t pay the rent. Dreams don’t add up to anything in the end.”  


Kyungsoo gently pressed his lips against Kai’s. Kai felt his insides melt. It was surreal, the men who typically took Kai didn’t kiss him, rather they covered his mouth and nose until Kai felt himself nearly slipping out of consciousness. Kyungsoo’s lips were plump and soft against Kai’s. They moved slowly, agonizingly slow for Kai, whose encounters rarely lasted more than twenty minutes. Yet Kai wanted to milk this encounter for all it was worth. They moved in perfect sync.  


Kai’s eyes fluttered open the next morning. Kyungsoo’s bare arm was still wrapped around his waist. The other man was sleeping peacefully, all of the agedness and tiredness was erased. Kai felt himself smile. He rested his head back against Kyungsoo’s chest and listened to the even heartbeat he found there. They lay there together, in that perfect silence. Kyungsoo stirred slowly, blinking blearily. He smiled tenderly at Kai and ruffled his hair.  


The ringing of a phone sliced through their moment. Kyungsoo sighed deeply and reached for his phone. He answered it. Kai instantly saw Kyungsoo’s change in facial expression when the other voice spoke. Kyungsoo untangled himself from Kai and stalked into the adjacent room. Kyungsoo was speaking English now, and his tone of voice told Kai the caller was not a friend.  


“ _Shall I drive you to a church later_?” Kyungsoo hissed. “ _I pray, for your sake, not mine, that you’re at least letting that child stay in your home while he recovers. … Well it’s your fault he got there, you should take responsibility. … I’m not sadistic like you. … Go to the Director and I’ll burn your precious club to the ground. I have more than enough information about what goes on there. … You stopped scaring me long ago, Kevin_.” Kyungsoo hung up abruptly. He returned to the living room where Kai looked at him with confusion.  


“Just an unpleasant colleague, dove. Nothing to concern yourself with.” Kyungsoo held out his hand to Kai. “I’ll show you where the bathroom is. You can wash up if you’d like. I’ll drive you back to your apartment.”  


Kai moved slowly, as if in a haze. Kyungsoo’s voice sounded so much like the soft one he heard in the alleyway. But that didn’t make sense. If Kyungsoo had talked to the boss, wouldn’t he be beaten like Sehun had? Kai’s head was still in a fog when Kyungsoo dropped him off. He held on to Kai’s wrist for a moment before leaning over to peck his lips. Kai stumbled back into his apartment.  


Baekhyun was hunched over the table with his face in his hands. All of the lights were off. Kai’s stomach twisted. “Oh God, Baekhyun…”  


“No,” Baekhyun croaked. “Sehun’s alive. He’s alive and he’ll make it.” Baekhyun’s eyes were red and swollen. “I’m really going to kill Mr. Li. After doing that – to a baby – he went out for a smoke and then came back and drove him to a hospital. I went with them. I thought he was going to dump Sehun’s body because it looked really bad. When we got there he made up this huge story about how he found Sehun outside his apartment and thought he’d been jumped. So they rushed Sehun into surgery and he’s going to be okay.”  


Kai sat down next to Baekhyun at the table. “Then it’s okay, he’s going to be fine.”  


“Yeah, but now he’s Satan’s personal pet. I told him, _I begged him, Jongin_ , I got on my knees and begged him to let me take Sehun back here. But he said that he’d handle it.” Baekhyun shook his head. “That poor baby.”  


“What about Luhan and Yixing? Are they okay?”  


“They’re fine. They did their performances and everything. That’s just how well groomed they are. They can endure through the most traumatic experiences.”  


“And you?”  


“I’ll be okay, Jongin. I’m shook up but I’ll be alright. I just need to know how Sehun is doing.” Baekhyun paused. “Where did you disappear to last night?”  


Kai blushed. “I went home with Kyungsoo.” Off of Baekhyun’s look Kai explained. “I needed to get him away from the club. The boss was after him too. He didn’t want to go so I told him to get me out of there or else I would’ve exploded.”  


“Did you sleep with him?” Baekhyun asked quietly.  


Kai cast his eyes down against the warped wood of the table. “Yes.”  


Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut, pain twisted his face.  


“It was consensual.” Kai said. “He didn’t hurt me.”  


“Aren’t they all the same, Jongin? They romance you, they take what they want, and then they leave. They’re all the same. It never changes.”  


“Baekhyun, the world isn’t solely composed of men like Mr. Li and guys like me and Sehun. There are people in between too. Not everyone is as fucked up as we are.”  


Baekhyun’s fingers trembled as he lit a cigarette. The orange glow cast shadows on his face. “I’m a man of little faith, Jongin. I’ve watched all of you get used. It’s hard to not believe it.”  


“This wasn’t your fault.”  


“You call me lucky. Am I? I get to watch all of you suffer and I can’t do a thing to stop it.” Baekhyun ground out his cigarette on the table. The ashes created a burn on the wood. “Some luck.”  


Kai and Baekhyun returned to the club that evening. They too had been groomed to endure under any and every circumstance. The boss lingered around the club making Kai feel uneasy. Baekhyun’s eyes followed the boss around the club with unrestrained hatred.  


Kai found himself by the bar when Baekhyun confronted the boss.  


“How is Sehun?” Baekhyun asked. His voice was taut with anger, but he spoke politely.  


“Sleeping,” the boss replied. “Give me a vodka, will you?”  


Baekhyun poured the drink. “Is he feeling alright? Is he eating yet?”  


The boss only shrugged and sipped his drink.  


Baekhyun’s lips tightened. “How do you not know? He’s still at your place, isn’t he? You didn’t just dump him out on the street, did you?”  


The boss glared at Baekhyun. Kai flinched. He didn’t know how Baekhyun could dare to meet that smoldering gaze. “You should watch your tongue.”  


Baekhyun’s knuckles were white against the dark stain of the bar. “You should keep sixteen year olds out of whorehouses disguised as nightclubs.”  


The boss tipped the rest of his drink down his throat and slammed the glass back on the bar. “Be very careful, Byun Baekhyun. You fancy me a fool, but I’m far from it.”  


When the boss had stalked away, Kai looked at Baekhyun with terrified eyes. “Baekhyun! What are you thinking? You saw what he did to Sehun. Do you want him to do that to you?”  


Baekhyun took the boss’s glass and began cleaning it with a rag. “He doesn’t scare me.”  


Kai shook his head. “You’re insane.”  


Kyungsoo sat with Kai again. The boss had gone into a back office and Kai thought Kyungsoo would be safe. “How are you feeling?” Kyungsoo asked him.  


“Worried.” Kai answered. “Sehun is alive, but he’s staying with the boss. Baekhyun is getting agitated. I’m afraid the boss is going to go after Baekhyun. You know, Baek has never been one to hide his feelings.”  


“I’m sure they’ll both be fine, dove.”  


“I just want to know how Sehun is doing. The boss is keeping him as a pet, according to Baekhyun. I just want to know he’s okay.”  


Kyungsoo caressed his cheek. “I thought you wanted to hit him.” He mused with a teasing smirk.  


“Only because he was my age. Only because he was more clueless than me. Only because he’s so innocent. He never had to fight before he came here. I don’t even want to know what the boss is doing to him. But I have to know.”  


Baekhyun and Kai got their wish three weeks later. The boss had returned to the club. He was entertaining some business friends, including the one Kyungsoo had threatened. He had brought Sehun along and shoved him backstage. Baekhyun and Kai fussed over him.  


“You lost weight.” Baekhyun said accusingly. “Doesn’t he feed you?”  


“He does. It just doesn’t stay down.” Sehun murmured.  


Baekhyun spun him around, eyes taking in the extensive bruises and scars littering Sehun’s pale skin. “I tried to get you back, kiddo. I begged him but he wouldn’t let me.”  


“What is he doing to you?” Kai asked, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer.  


Sehun tensed visibly and cast his eyes around the room. “Not a lot. He leaves me in his room all day, so I sleep a lot. But at night… he…” Sehun seemed to shrink. “He takes me when he wants. Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes he lets his friends over and they…” Sehun waved his hands helplessly. “The one Kyungsoo chased off finally got what he wanted.” He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously.  


Baekhyun stood up and knocked Luhan’s cosmetics off of his desk. “I’m going to end him. I swear to God I’m going to end Kevin Li.”  


Kai stooped to pick up Luhan’s fallen toiletries. The Chinese would throw a fit if he knew his belongings had been disturbed.  


“He’s dead. He brought a bunch of them over. They just make one order and it gets delivered to the meeting room. They’d never even see if I slipped something into their drinks…”  


“Baekhyun!” Kai grabbed his friend’s shoulders. “The walls have ears. What if they catch wind of this? You want to be like Sehun? Or dead and dumped in an alley? How is that going to help?”  


Baekhyun pushed Kai away. “You can’t do that to a minor, Jongin! You can’t beat him half to death and then keep him around to satiate your demon libido. You can’t do that to someone who can’t consent to it!”  


“Baekhyun, please listen to me! You’re going to jail if you kill him. And if you somehow fail you’re as good as dead. He’s too powerful. He has too much influence.”  


Baekhyun sunk back down on the floor beside Sehun. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy and petted his hair. “I tried to protect you. I’m sorry.”  


“Not your fault,” Sehun whispered. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”  


Kai left the two backstage. He was worried about Kyungsoo. He wanted to warn him and hopefully get him away from the club. Kai wove through the mass of bodies. A few hands brushed over his bare abdomen as he passed but he pushed past them. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Kyungsoo’s familiar face. Yixing was dancing onstage and Luhan was at the stage’s edge touching up his face. Kai asked Luhan if he had seen Kyungsoo.  


“Yeah, he was talking with Satan. They seemed pretty familiar too. He went with the rest of them to the meeting room.”  


Kai felt cold. He grabbed Luhan’s shoulders. “How many people went back there? What did they look like?”  


Luhan shimmied out of his grasp. “The boss, your friend, the guy who complained all those weeks ago, and four others. Two of them are very tall, almost the boss’s height. The other two are more Baekhyun-sized. One of the smaller ones acts very authoritative though. He even had Satan looking cowed.”  


Kai’s heart raced. “Do you have any idea what they’re talking about in there?”  


“Calm down, Kai. Your friend didn’t look like he was in any danger.”  


Kai ran backstage again. “Sehun. When the boss had friends over, what were they like? What do they do?”  


Sehun looked confused. “There were five others. They’re all part of the same organization, I think is what he called it.”  


Baekhyun looked at Sehun sharply. “They’re mafia?”  


Sehun shook his head. “Spies.”  


“That only happens in the movies, Sehun.”  


“How could I make that up? There’s a leader. He has a bunch of different names. They call him the Director. He’s pissed because someone broke ranks and ran away. They’re all looking for him. The boss said he’d found him. They’re discussing it tonight.”  


“Did this rogue have a name?” Kai doesn’t want to be putting these pieces together. It couldn’t be true.  


“They called him Agent D.O.”  


Kai had heard that name somewhere. He heard that name in the alley the night Sehun was beaten. The night he slept with Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo’s last name was Do. Do, in English, was spelled D-O. It wasn’t true. It didn’t make sense. Kai swayed on his feet. It couldn’t be true. His Kyungsoo couldn’t be involved in something like this. He looked so plain. And yet Kyungsoo had jetted off to other countries and had come back scuffed up. Tax attorneys didn’t fly to other countries and come back looking like they’d spent a month getting into fights. Kai felt a scream build up in his throat. If all of this was true, that meant Kyungsoo, a runaway spy, was in a meeting room with his jilted coworkers.  


“They’re going to kill Kyungsoo!” he screamed.  


Baekhyun jumped up to grab Kai. “What do you mean?”  


“Luhan said he went to their meeting. He’s the rogue. He’s the one. They’re going to kill him. Baek, they’re going to kill him!”  


“How do you know?”  


Kai shook in Baekhyun’s arms. “Everything makes sense now. Kyungsoo wasn’t afraid to meet the boss because he knew him already. That’s how he knew Sehun was going to live. He told the boss to take him to the hospital. That’s why he wasn’t scared. That’s how he knew.” Kai’s world spun. “I need to find him. I need to get him away from them.”  


“Jongin, if all that is true what hope do you have in saving him? They’re clearly ruthless. Don’t do this, Jongin.” Kai pulled away from Baekhyun as he stumbled back into the club. “God dammit, Jongin, we promised we’d get out of here together!”  


Kai wandered out into the street. He dragged his feet over the unforgiving concrete as his mind raced. Images of his Kyungsoo being viciously beaten clouded his head. He swayed on his feet, unsure of his purpose. Fancy foreign cars seemed to surround him, in his hazy state of mind he imagined their engines purr to life and their headlights cast a ghastly spotlight on him, daring him to move. Kai lost track how long he stood there until he felt a hand on his elbow.  


“Kai? What are you doing out there?”  


“Kyungsoo!” Kai wailed. “You’re alive!”  


Kyungsoo smiled at him tenderly. “Of course, silly. Why would I be dead?”  


Kai opened his mouth but Kyungsoo shook his head. “Let’s go back to my flat, shall we? We need to talk.”  


Kai let Kyungsoo pull him towards his car. Kai turned and saw the boss staring at him. A smirk played on the boss’s lips and Kai suddenly felt cold. A shorter man appeared behind the boss’s shoulder. His eyes scanned Kai’s face, seeming to take in every detail. Kai shivered as Kyungsoo opened the car’s doors. The two men at the club didn’t stop watching until Kyungsoo pulled away from the club.  


Kai shifted anxiously as they drove. Kyungsoo seemed oddly calm. Kai was itching to question Kyungsoo about the meeting and the people there. Who was the small man hovering by Mr. Li? He was full of questions. “Kyungsoo?”  


“Yes, my dove?”  


“Who was that man by the boss? The short one?”  


Kyungsoo chuckled softly. “Don’t let his small stature fool you. He’s a terror in his own right. He has many names, but we call him the Director.”  


“What did he want from you?”  


Kyungsoo smiled in the dim light. “We had a friendly chat. He’s quite upset with me, you see. You’re a smart one, you’ve probably put some pieces together.”  


“You’re a spy. Sehun told me.”  


“He’s a perceptive little one.” Kyungsoo nodded. “Yes, I’m a spy. I steal secrets and leak them. We are a group of six. Each of us was able to weasel our way into some sensitive part of South Korea’s infrastructure. The Director is the brains of it all, we bow to him. Your boss is good with numbers, icy and calculating. He runs that brothel as a cover for meetings like these. Xiumin is a police officer. Homicides. He covers up things that go, shall we say, awry. Jongdae is good at sucking up to people: the perfect politician. He has big ears too, finds out lots of things. Indeed, he was the one who found me. And Chanyeol, our last and least. He does the dirty work you see. Our hit man. He’s actually quite useful, but he’s a bit trigger happy. He’s gotten himself into more than a few tight spots. Once or twice we thought he’d finally bit the dust but he always comes creeping back.”  


“What about you?” Kai breathed.  


“I’m the most valuable. I’m a master of disguise, my dove. The notorious Agent D.O. I’m on a most wanted list somewhere. I come and go as I please. I’ve gone up north a few times to poke around. I faked my death there to leave this life. And that, dove, is why the Director is displeased. You see, one doesn’t simply walk away from the Director. Yes, we were once a larger group. Chanyeol picked them off when they attempted to turn tail and run. I tell you, dove, I intend to be the first to walk away alive.”  


Kyungsoo parked and opened his door. “Follow me, little love.”  


Kai followed Kyungsoo into his apartment. The place was still as monochrome as he remembered from the last time. Kai ran his fingertips over the granite countertops. Kyungsoo observed him silently. Kai didn’t see Kyungsoo take out the gun.  


Kai froze when he felt a cold metal barrel align itself with his temple. “You see, to leave the Director you need to complete a task. In the past, it’s usually been to avoid Chanyeol’s murderous rage. But this time it’s special. I need to destroy something I love. The question is: what can a man who cares nothing for this world destroy? You, my dove, are the answer. Kevin seems to believe I care a great deal for you. And I’ve told you far too much about what my people do. I’m sure you know spy films, so I’m certain you’ve heard of the phrase ‘I’d tell you but then I’d have to kill you.’”  


Kai trembled. He barely dared to breathe. “Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me.”  


Kyungsoo clicked his tongue. “Death isn’t scary, little love. I’ve enjoyed you. I thank you for that.”  


Kai heard Kyungsoo click the safety off. Cold beads of sweat ran down his face. His lips quivered. “If you really loved me you wouldn’t kill me.” It was a last ditch effort, a desperate final appeal to the person Kai had felt his heart clench for.  


Kyungsoo laughed lowly. “What a pity. Do Kyungsoo cares nothing for the people of this world.” And he pulled the trigger.  


Kai doesn’t think it hurt, but all he could feel is water. He was in the middle of an ocean being tossed around by waves. The birds above mocked him, their shrieking cries flying over his helpless figure. The waves tugged him bellow the water. Kai felt the water fill his eyes, ears, nose, lungs. He blacked out as the waves pulled him under.

“YOU KILLED HIM!” Baekhyun screamed. Luhan, Yixing, and Sehun all clung to him, trying to keep the petite man from charging the boss.  


Mr. Li stared Baekhyun down coldly. “The police investigated. They ruled it a suicide.”  


“That’s bullshit! Jongin would never do that.”  


“Why argue with me? You can’t change reality.” Mr. Li turned on his heel and left.  


Baekhyun fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. “Jongin, we promised we’d get out of here together. _Together_.”

“Please enjoy your flight to New York, sir.”  


Do Kyungsoo smiled and bowed. “I will. Thank you.” And he stepped onto the airplane that would take him far from Seoul.

“ _Just die and keep quiet… Never ever let anyone go anywhere, not together. And we will kill and they’ll dream about water… No pulse. You don’t have to worry about me._ ” –Stars, tATu


End file.
